Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by mmmbirra:

Poured into a pint glass from a 50 cl can. Yes, a full pint. Not that 14.9 oz bs you get stateside.Looks fantastic. Black, and when held up to a light shows a few red streaks. The classic tan head lingers forever.The aroma is light, and smells faintly of chocolate. Maybe a hint of coffee, maybe. The flavor is equally lacking, and again you can pick up a slight bit of chocolate in the background. If you look really hard you can find something resembling roasted barley. The flavors are really nice and pleasant, but they're unfortunately quite muted.Very creamy, very nice mouthfeel, and for a moment makes you think that this beer isn't as light as it is.

More User Reviews:

One of the best style of beer to look at is the Irish Dry Stout. Cascading nitro style waiting period. Dark brown to black, sticky, fully coated lacing. Carbonation is almost non-existent after the pour completes itself.

Some charred barley, but like most from this style it is on the easy drinking, creamy, laid back. Watered down, tart taste, milky mouthfeel, and the drinkability is average just because I can't see myself looking forward to this or pursuing it any time soon. Once again another brew I'd prefer to try on tap, without the nitro blasting ball, but for this review in a can its simply uneventfull.

The beer people love to hate for no legitimate reason, other than the fact it is the most famous stout of all time. Don't judge a beer based on its' notoriety. This is the textbook beer that "beer snobs" loathe, because it reassures the deluded perception they have that smaller always equals better. Anyways:

Appearance- Poured on tap into a guinness glass it presents a dark coffee like color, accompanied with a thick foamy head.

Presentation: 14.9fl oz can with a built in widget (they call theirs the "Guinness Floating Draft System") for that "draught-like" quality. No freshness date.

Appearance: Absolutely pitch black with an amazing cascading effect. As the nitro-injection settles it forms a perfect finger width, creamy, foamy, tight off-white head. It's sticks to the glass and the head consistency remains all the way to the bottom of the glass.

Smell: Very pleasant aroma of sweet and roasted malts. Faint caramel note with a finishing of smoked malt.

Taste: Silky smooth mouthfeel, tremendously creamy -- so much so that I always find it difficult to not simply chug the beer in one swallow. Malt is nicely roasted with little astringency. The roasted malts give off coffee, slight chocolate and mild smoked flavors. Things dry up after this, then follows a watery-like floral hop flavor. There's a slight bite, for a brief second, that combines with a touch of roasted malt astringency. The unique roasted flavor carries through as a foundation from beginning to end. Body is medium. Finishes with a delicate roasted and dryness.

Notes: What can I say? It's not the most remarkable Stout that I've ever had. It's not very exciting compared to its siblings (yes, even on tap in Ireland). Apart from "Guinness" (the tap version) this is Guinness' top selling beer, and the most consistent as it's all too easy these days to get an inconsistent poured pint of Guinness. Personally I enjoy and appreciate the Extra Stout and Foreign Extra Stout 10 times more, but you'll find me slumming it on occasion. A mediocre beer.

What happened! Over the past ten years (my drinking career) it seems as though this beer has been getting worse and worse. Guinness' were my first beers and they were fantastic. Now the inconsistent, anything but black color, and weak head are breaking my heart. The smell is gone and the smooth creamy taste is more of a metallic sip of tap water!? I loved this beer and feel personally wronged by those who have watered down this liquid tradition. The only remenant of the old Guinness is the way the nitro makes it feel when you drink it, but the mouthfeel simply can't stand alone.

Picked this up at the JewelOsco grocery store on Des Plaines & Fulton in Chicago. Was using it to make a beef stew in the slow cooker.

A: Those widgets are so annoying. You hardly get the top popped and it shoots it's load. Typical jet black guinness look with big white fine creamy head. Not much in the lacing department but I do like that a small head stays throughout and gives you a creamy milk mustache. I love that classic settling that Guinness does. You have to admit that it is a good looking drink.

S: Typical dry, sour Guinness smell. A little sweeter than the Extra Stout. It always reminds me of that stale brewery smell. It's almost got a hint of vinegar to it.

T: It is dry as a cork which is what the style is all about. The dryness is almost like a red wine level of dry. It may not be the best stout in the world but I think it is often reviewed as if it is an English or American Stout and not it's unique style. It's all malt and a little smokey when it warms up. Generally, it's pretty subtle.

M: Nice and smooth. Not as full a beer as you would imagine. Can feel quite thin at times. Carbonation and bitterness adds a little interest.

D: Guinness is a very nostalgic brew for me. I fondly remember having it in Ireland and I don't care what anyone says, it does taste better there. It is a gateway beer and for that reason alone, I think it deserves more respect than it gets. It's a pretty subtle drink that can be pounded. I know that from experience as a kid. I wouldn't go out of my way to drink it anymore but when I do have a reason to drink it, it sure does bring back good memories.

What can I say? I love watching a fresh poured nitro-pushed Guinness 'cook' in front of me. There just doesn't seem to be anything else that makes that kind of impression.

The smell is, well mostly average, but there is a nice light coffee aroma present. The taste is good. It's, well, Guinness. Dark and chewy, with a drier coffee overtone and a bit of a dry finish. It's sort of the generic standard for me - the baseline to compare other stouts and porters against.

Mouthfeel is good, fairly chewy, and smooth to drink. It's the standard I defer to when there isn't much of a selection available. There are certainly other favorite dark beers out there but Guinness is always a 'safe' choice.